#335-"Call It One of the Mercies of the Road"-Week of October 20, 2025

Overview: This week invites a deep turning inward. 

The New Moon in Libra opens a portal for recalibrating relationships and restoring inner balance after months of disruption. As Neptune re-enters Pisces, we begin the final chapter of a 14-year collective dream cycle—time to dissolve what’s illusion and harvest what’s true from our spiritual and creative evolution since 2011. The Sun’s move into Scorpio and a cascade of aspects between Jupiter, Chiron, and Pluto intensify the alchemical work—shadow integration, emotional honesty, and soulful truth-telling. By the weekend, Mercury trines Saturn, grounding the revelations of the week into practical wisdom.

Tuesday, October 21 – New Moon in Libra 

This New Moon at 28° Libra invites you to seed new relational patterns founded on authentic harmony, not people-pleasing. Libra’s evolutionary task is to balance the dance between self and other—how to stay centered in your truth while staying connected. After recent Pluto-Venus shifts, this lunation renews your capacity for grace under transformation.

Reflection: What new relational agreement—inner or outer—wants to be born from truth, not habit?

Wednesday, October 22 – Neptune re-enters Pisces; Sun enters Scorpio

Neptune’s return to Pisces (through January 2026) completes the vast oceanic cycle that began in 2011. This is the closing dream—time to discern which visions still hold soul truth and which dissolve into mist. The Sun’s shift into Scorpio deepens this inquiry, illuminating what must be released for renewal. The veils thin, inviting compassionate surrender and courageous descent.

Reflection: What illusions are ready to dissolve so your truer vision can emerge?

Thursday, October 23 – Jupiter in Cancer square Chiron in Aries 

Expanding beyond old emotional defenses, this tension invites healing around belonging and self-protection. Jupiter amplifies the need for emotional security, while Chiron exposes the wounds that prevent full self-trust. Growth arises from vulnerability—learning to nurture without over-giving.

Reflection: Where does your growth now require tenderness instead of toughness?

Friday, October 24 – Sun in Scorpio square Pluto in Aquarius

This potent square exposes the power dynamics in your relationships and your psyche. Transformation accelerates when you face control, fear, or resistance with honesty. Pluto in Aquarius asks for collective evolution; the Sun in Scorpio demands emotional integrity. Together, they burn away falseness so something new can be born from the ashes.

Reflection: What truth wants to surface, no matter how uncomfortable, to set you free?

Saturday, October 25 – Mercury in Scorpio trine Saturn in Pisces

After an intense week, this trine grounds insights into words and form. Deep communication and intuitive clarity become available. Saturn helps you translate the ineffable into structure—journaling, ritual, or commitments that honor your truth.

Reflection: What truth or insight is ready to be named and anchored into practice?
 

Podcast poem: For Those Who Have Far to Travel by Jan Richardson

Transcript

0:07

Hello, welcome to Astrology Alchemy. I'm Sheila Bellagio, your host for this podcast. Alchemy is defined as a seemingly magical process of transformation. Spiritual alchemy is the process of pursuing the gold of your true nature. By transmuting the unrefined limiting parts of yourself. In this podcast, I'll offer you inspiring insights from current astrology cycles that support your path of turning your personal lead into gold. More resources are available at the website on the edges of change.com. Hello, and welcome to Astrology Alchemy Podcast number 335. This is for the week of October 20th, 2025. I'm your host and guide, Sheila Bella. Here's a phrase from this week's podcast poem. Call it one of the mercies of the road. Here's an overview of the opportunities this week for transformational work. With the archetypes, this week invites a deep turning inward. The New Moon in Libra opens a portal for recalibrating relationships and restoring inner balance after months of disruption as Neptune reenters Pisces. We begin the final chapter of a 14 year collective dream cycle. Time to dissolve what's illusion and harvest what's true from our spiritual and creative evolution. Since 2011, the sun's move into Scorpio and a cascade of aspects between Jupiter, Chiron, and Pluto intensify the alchemical work. Shadow integration, emotional honesty, and soulful truth telling. By the weekend, mercury trine Saturn grounding the revelations of the weak into practical wisdom. It's a threshold weak between air and water, between idealism and embodiment on Tuesday, October 21st. The New Moon in Libra occurs at 5:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time. We can see the Libra sign. Zodiac sign as the peacekeeper archetype. This new moon invites you to seed new relational patterns founded on authentic harmony, not people pleasing. Libras evolutionary task is to balance the dance between self and other, how to stay centered in your truth while staying connected. After the recent Pluto, Venus shifts, this lation renews your capacity for grace under transformation. A rele reflection question for you with this cycle. What new relational agreement, inner or outer wants to be born from truth not habit. On Wednesday, October 22nd, Neptune reenters, Pisces, and the sun enters Scorpio. Neptune's return to BCE where it will stay until January of 2026 completes the vast oceanic cycle that began in 2011. This is the closing dream. Time to discern what vision still hold, soul, truth, and which dissolve into mist. Neptune as the dreamer, mystic archetype. Is connected to the oceanic deities, the dissolving and letting go, and the opening consciousness to a more mystical universal awareness. However, the Neptune archetype also has the deep challenge of inappropriate merging and ament and being caught under spells that are illusionary. So notice any receptivity you feel to that shift of returning to Pisces, and notice any themes that began in 2011 that are coming back in the next few months for you to honor the dream release, what has been a spell, and let go of places where you've merged with someone or something that is no longer yours to be with. Plus the sun shifting into the sign of Scorpio deepens this inquiry. Illuminating what must be released for renewal. The veils are thin, inviting, compassionate surrender, and courageous descent. Here's a reflection question. What illusions are ready to dissolve so your truer vision can emerge? On Thursday, October 23rd, Jupiter in Cancer Squares, Chiron in Aries, Jupiter as the wise one. The expanded one in the sign of nurturing connects with Chiron, the wounded healer, shapeshifter Shamanic, one in the sign of potent individuality. Expanding, expanding beyond old emotional defenses. This tension invites healing around belonging and self-protection. Jupiter amplifies the need for emotional security while Chiron exposes the wounds that prevent full self trust. Growth arises from vulnerability learning to nurture without overgiving. A reflection question, where does your growth now require tenderness instead of toughness? On Friday, October 24th, the sun in Scorpio squares Pluto in Aquarius. This potent square exposes the power dynamics in your relationship and your psyche. Transformation accelerates when you face control, fear, or resistance with honesty. Pluto, the transformer archetype in Aquarius asks for collective evolution. The sun. The conscious self archetype in Scorpio demands emotional integrity. Together, they burn away falseness. So something new can be born from the ashes. A reflection question for this cycle, what truth wants to surface no matter how uncomfortable to set you free. And keeping in mind, dear ones, as I re reflect with you, all of these cycles are happening on personal and collective levels. Most of us are really interested in how does it affect me and well, it should be because as you can make your alchemical transformation choices for growth and releasing the past, you help the collective to do the same. I overall, sun and Scorpio with Pluto and Aquarius is shining the light sun on some deep systemic toxicity that needs to be changed for the good of all. Saturday, October 25th, mercury and Scorpio, trines Saturn and Pisces Mercury, the storyteller Teller, is in a harmonious connection with Saturn the elder. After an intense week, this trine grounds insight into words and form. Deep communication and intuitive clarity become available. Saturn helps you translate the ineffable into structure, journaling ritual, or commitments that honor your truth. You may wanna take some time at the end of the week to really listen to yourself and notice and communicate by writing or reflecting, grounding the changes that have happened for you this week. Reflection question, what truth or insight is ready to be named? And anchored into practice. So as a completion summary for this week, the Libra New Moon and Neptune's final passage through Pisces. Open a liminal threshold this week. Trust what dissolves. The alchemy of letting go is already shaping the new pattern, waiting beneath the surface. And the poem that came to me is so interesting because it's a poem for Epiphany, which is a couple of months away, and yet the qualities of some of these alchemical cycles have a gift of epiphany of awareness. Particularly the depth work with some of the planets in Scorpio and the truth telling with Pluto and the nurturing of the depth of the wound into healing of Jupiter and Chiron. Plus, as we go back in our final journey with Neptune and Pisces, it's important to stay true to your deepest aspirations, your deepest longings. What is faith to you? What do you believe in and what are you committed to with those beliefs? The poem is called, for Those Who Have Far to Travel by Jan Richardson. If you could see the journey whole, you might never undertake it. Might never dare the first step that propels you from the place you have known. Towards the place you not know, place, you know, not call it one of the mercies of the road that we see it only by stages as it opens before us, as it comes into our keeping step by single step. There is nothing for it but to go. And by our going take the vows, the pilgrim takes. To be faithful to the next step, to rely on more than the map, to heed the signposts of intuition and dream, to follow the star that only you will recognize. To keep an open eye for the wonders that attend the path to press on beyond distractions, beyond fatigue. Beyond what would tempt you from the way there are vows that only you will know. The secret promises for your particular path and the new ones you'll need to make. When the road is revealed by turns, you could not have foreseen. Keep them, break them, make them again. Each promise becomes part of the path. Each choice creates the road that will take you to the place where at last you will kneel to offer the gift most needed, the gift that only you can give before turning to go home by another way. So in this week, notice. What quickens in your awareness about the gift that only you can give, and whether there's a time to give it now or later to go underneath the surface? Scorpio, Pluto of so much dissonance, disharmony, pain and suffering. It's there. We don't deny it. But what is living underneath? What are the deeper truths? What is the pilgrim's path that you have been walking? Following that your conscious mind is not tracking, but your deeper knowing is tracking that intuition and power of the dreamer of you recognizing there are vows you have taken. There are vows that you know to break. Now, there are vows that are calling you to make. As the road shifts, call it one of the mercies of the road that we see it only by the stage as it opens before us. Trust the road you're on. Bless your deep journey. Thank you. To all my dear ones who support me with this podcast, thank you for those who listen, who download, who send me comments, who financially support all of you. Tell people about it. Thank you for being part of my larger circle of transformation and letting me be part of your larger circle of transformation. Remember to connect with me at my website. On the edges of change.com, many, many resources available to you. And if you haven't already signed up to my email list, I encourage you to do so. The button is right there on the homepage. I send you weekly emails with the astrology information on the cycles plus guided practices to help you remember your ancient ways of knowing. Thank you. You have been listening to the Astrology Alchemy Podcast with your host, Sheila Lange. Resources are available at the website on the edges of change.com. Thank you for listening. Bless your alchemical journey to embrace the gold of your true nature.